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| Title |  |
Impacts of Colombia’s Current irrigation
management transfer program. (Research report, 38 pages) |
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| Author | Douglas L. Vermillion and Carlos Garcés-Restrepo | |||
| Organisation | International Water Management Institute | |||
| Year | 1998 | |||
| Summary/ Introduction |
This report deals with
the results of a study conducted by the International
Water Management Institute (IWMI) in collaboration with
the National Institute for Land Development (INAT) to
assess the impacts of the current national irrigation
management transfer program in Colombia. In 1990, the
Government of Colombia adopted a new national policy to
transfer management of its irrigation districts to water
users’ associations (WUAs). This report examines the
context of transfer, the basic transfer strategy, powers
and functions devolved, and the impacts of transfer on
irrigation management and irrigated agriculture in three
sample irrigation districts. Two districts that were not transferred until 1995 and 1996 were also selected to enable comparison between schemes that had and had not yet been transferred during the period of historical analysis. Impacts measured include costs of irrigation to the government and the farmers, financial solvency of the irrigation districts, quality of irrigation operations and maintenance, and the agricultural and economic productivity of the irrigation systems. Data were collected through interviews with irrigation management staff and farmers, secondary data available from irrigation and agriculture departments, a sample survey of farmers, and direct inspection of irrigation networks. The national irrigation management transfer program in Colombia adopted in 1990 can be characterized as significant but only as a partial devolution of management to water users. The government maintained considerable advisory influence over the districts for several years, exercising some control over O&M plans and budgets, and resisting district attempts to release large numbers of staff. After adoption of the 1993 Land Development Law, in 1994, this control has been relaxed considerably as districts gained almost complete control over management. However, powers devolved do not include a formal water right or ownership of irrigation scheme infrastructure. Also, the government has not made it clear whose responsibility it will be, and under what terms and conditions to finance possible future costs of rehabilitation. Management transfer prompted a number of managerial changes aimed at improving management efficiency and accountability of district staff. Transfer resulted in a significant shift in the burden of cost from the government to farmers, which has generally been accepted by farmers. But transfer has not had substantial impacts on the performance of operations and maintenance, or on the agricultural and economic productivity of irrigated land or water, neither improving negative performance nor causing detriment where performance is positive. This report raises concerns about how lack of a comprehensive devolution policy for the irrigation subsector can discourage farmers from investing in the long-term sustainability of their irrigation schemes. More attention is needed toward using the transfer process to create local management self-reliance and ensuring that needed support systems for local management are in place prior to implementation of irrigation management transfer programs. |
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Complete document (2,425k) |
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